Phytochemicals, or plant chemicals, are found in a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, each one with an associated color. Did you know that blueberries get their blue hue from a chemical called delphinidin? Did you also know that that same chemical is a known cancer fighter? Find out more about why phytochemicals are so beneficial to your health in this video featuring Linda Van Horn, professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine and discover why it's a healthy decision to eat a rainbow of fruits and vegetables!

 

 

Hydrogen peroxide is constantly breaking down into water and oxygen, though it isn’t the most exciting reaction to watch. But add a little dish soap and a catalyst called potassium iodide, and suddenly you get the eruptive, awesomely messy reaction known as Elephant’s Toothpaste!

 

Just in time for those New Year’s Eve toasts, check out our latest video on the chemistry of champagne!

Why do people have different reactions to the same food? One person may love chocolate while another may find it too sweet. Some people love cheese while others find it totally nasty. Uncover the chemistry behind the taste and smell of food, and find out how scientists apply this knowledge to develop artificial flavors.

 

 

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Does tryptophan really cause the bleary-eyed daze after a Thanksgiving meal? Why does that timer pop up from the Thanksgiving turkey at just the right moment?
 
For answers to those and other questions that could spark dinnertime conversation next Thursday, check out our latest videos uncovering the chemistry behind Thanksgiving.

 

The first video in the series debunks the long-held holiday myth that a compound in turkey known as tryptophan makes people especially drowsy after a Thanksgiving meal. The other three videos feature Diane Bunce, Ph.D., professor of chemistry at The Catholic University of America and recipient of the ACS Helen Free Award for Public Outreach.
 

 

 

To kick off our new series of Bytesize demo videos, we went to the guy who literally wrote the book on chemistry demos: University of Wisconsin-Madison Chemistry Professor and 2012 ACS President Bassam Shakhashiri, author of the popular “Chemical Demonstrations” textbooks. Check out the first Bytesize Demo to see a stunning “chemical oscillating reaction” that changes from a beautiful amber color to a very dark blue and back again (and again and again).

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Just in time for Halloween, we’ve scared up two new episodes that highlight the chemistry behind candy.

 

 

 

The videos feature Richard Hartel, Ph.D., professor of food engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In one video, Hartel carefully boils a mixture of sugar, water and corn syrup at temperatures over 300 degrees Fahrenheit to produce hard candy. The video demonstrates how the molten liquid candy cools to form what from a technical standpoint actually is a glass. Unlike window glass made of silica, this tasty glass is made of sugar.

In the other video, Hartel explains how the sugar crystal structure of candy corn gives this Halloween favorite its’ characteristic creamy texture. Check both of the videos out, but be warned — you’re probably going to get a sweet tooth.

 

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Here is some good news for you: you can blame the sounds and odors that come from your body on bacteria. Yup -- those little critters are the ones responsible for a lot of what goes on inside our bodies. People can be uptight about all these bodily sights and smells, but understanding the science behind what may appear gross may make these things a little less gross.

 

So without further ado, check out the latest episodes of ChemMatters on the chemistry behind bad breath and acne.

 

Alternate Download Link: ChemMatters - The Chemistry of Bad Breath (Zip file with MP4 video)

 

Alternate Download Link: ChemMatters - The Chemistry of Acne (Zip file with MP4 video)

The onion — how could something that tastes so good cause so many tears? Common in cuisine from all around the globe, onions are world renowned for their ability to make us all look like cry babies. We’ve taken it upon ourselves at Bytesize Science to get to the bottom of this teary phenomenon. In our latest video, we dug up the roots of this culinary annoyance to figure out exactly what chemical mechanisms trigger this reaction in our eyes, and we even threw in a couple techniques you can try at home to stop the tears before they start.